How are you viewing the current events? #nofilter
Do you remember how popular it was to see photography post a few years ago that were followed by the #nofilter. It was originally popularized on Instagram. Instagrammers were trying to show you how awesome their photo turned out without any of the Instagram photo filters that were designed to help the photo look better. This popular hashtag spilled over to other social media platforms. A true filter doesn’t attempt to hide reality, but emphasizes different aspects, moving some things to the background and others to the foreground.
A filter for a photo in some ways is similar to a world-view. Your worldview is like a lens through which you attempt to see the world and make sense of things. In other words a world-view is like a filter.
Most people are not really conscious of the fact they are viewing the world through a filter. It could be a filter handed down to them from their parents, school, peers, church, media or political party. It could be that some of us are seeing the world through a combination of these filters. Here’s the thing about a world view, it has the power to draw people together like nothing else. John Valk, a professor of world view studies says “worldviews are those larger pictures that inform and in turn form our perceptions of reality. They are visions of life as well as ways of life, are individual and personal in nature, yet bind adherents together communally.” Notice that last part? Our world view is what binds us together communally. The reality is we probably all have competing worldviews that come from our upbringing, politics and religion. Ultimately one of these will trump all of the others. (no political pun intended). As a Christian, our goal should be to have a Gospel centered worldview. That is, we see the world and it’s problems through the lens of the gospel. Sadly, many of us see the world through a republican or democrat filter or some other fitler of choice. The danger here is that we begin to interpret and apply the gospel through that filter. As we gather in person on Sunday, June 7th for the first time in a few months, let’s remember that we gather communally not because we vote the same way, see covid-19 similarly or have the same ethnic background. We gather together communally because of the gospel, the good news that despite our sin, God loves us, sent Jesus to die for us and He rose victorious over death and sin. The gospel is our bond, our filter, our worldview and MUST trump all others that compete and clamor for our hearts. See you Sunday at 9 or 10:45am…..or online at 10:45am!